Party Crashers
by SpyKid18
Summary: Rory and Lorelai crash one of Mitchum Huntzberger's parties. Set in "Come Home". ROGAN.


**A/N: Hello! So, this is set in "Come Home" at the party that Logan mentions to Rory at their newspaper meet-ups. I hope it works in the context of the show (I think it does) and I hope that you enjoy it! Bold dialogue is taken from the episode. The rest is mine :-)**

Party Crashers

Rory and Lorelai stood perched in front of the window, both of them gasping audibly as they watched Emily and Richard fall into a passionate embrace. Rory was marginally excited while Lorelai's reaction was more in the direction of borderline disgust. Those were her parents, after all, whose lips were pressed together in a fashion that would undoubtedly haunt her for many, many sleepless nights. The two spot the younger Gilmores peeking in the window like convicts and sweep open the door to let them in. Champagne is brought into the living room, a drink that the elder Gilmores rarely partake and Rory asked, _"What are we celebrating?"_

Richard and Emily exchanged a look. _"Uh, should we tell them?"_

_"They're going to find out sooner or later,"_ Emily tossed off.

_"Alright, then. Lorelai, Rory, your grandmother and I have reconciled. We are officially back together."_

Rory made a rather unYalke-like noise and launched herself into her grandparents' arms. Lorelai stood awkwardly behind them, still not entirely believing what she was seeing. Emily had been laughing. Richard was not speaking a word of business. Who were these people?

"Now girls, I know that we usually have dinner on Fridays but today is such a special day and there was something Richard and I were invited to that we think would be a wonderful way to celebrate and-"

"Are we cancelling Friday night dinner?" Lorelai asked incredulously. She looked over at Rory with wide eyes. Seriously. Who were these people? "Is this really, honestly happening?"

Emily rolled her eyes and said, "Yes, Lorelai, please contain your excitement at the prospect of a night without us."

"I'm just happy," Lorelai said, nearly shaking with excitement. "For your reconciliation."

"Well, thank you Lorelai," Emily drawled.

"You're welcome."

"So, where are you two going?" Rory asked.

"Mitchum Huntzberger is having a party in New York."

Rory felt her face flush and asked, "The one for Seymour Hersh?"

Richard looked surprised and nodded. "Yes, actually, how did you know?"

"Logan told me about it," she said distractedly, thinking through the fact that her grandparents would be at this party with Logan and she would not. For some reason, she could not comprehend this.

"He did?" Emily asked, her voice all insinuation. Rory had to admit that she wished the insinuation had some basis but was forced to explain, "We were working on a newspaper article together."

Emily's thoughts of grandeur were not thwarted by this. She saw yet another thread connecting her granddaughter and Logan Huntzberger and when Emily set her sights on a match she would do everything in her power to achieve it. Casually Emily said, "Well Rory, you seem mildly interested in this. Would you like to come with?"

Lorelai immediately cut in with, "Mom, I'm sure that you and Dad will want to have your special night alone."

"Alone, Lorelai? Well, we'll be surrounded by people," Emily replied crisply. "If Rory is interested she is more than welcome."

"She-"

"I'll go," Rory interjected. Lorelai looked at her oddly and asked, "You will?" Rory nodded and said, "You know I've always been a fan of Seymour Hersh. It would be interesting to meet him."

"And you can chat with Logan," Emily added with a knowing grin. Lorelai noticed that Rory's face did not refute this statement and as her mother's intuition went into overdrive she said, "I'll go too, then."

"Wonderul," Richard said jovially. "The more the merrier. Well, let's not be too slow in leaving. Fashionably late is one thing, regrettably is another."

They gathered their things and left, Lorelai giving Rory a look as they exited. Rory avoided her gaze and Lorelai knew tonight would be a very, very interesting night.

GG-GG-GG-GG-GG

"So, are you really here for Seymour Fish?" Lorelai asked Rory within the banquet hall, eyeing her daughter closely as she glanced around the room.

"Hersh," Rory corrected. "And yes."

"Oh, okay," Lorelai said, nodding her head as she silently thought that she was _so_ not buying her daughter's evasiveness. "So, you're not here for a certain blonde?"

"Mom," Rory said tensely, her hand rubbing the back of her neck in a move that her mother knew denoted discomfort. "It's not that at all."

"So, if I said he was right behind you, you wouldn't care?" Rory jumped and Lorelai sniped, "Ha, got ya."

"Fine, I kind of thought that Logan was going to invite me to this tonight," Rory admitted, looking around nervously. "We had talked about it during our newspaper stuff and I..well…yeah."

Lorelai grinned. "Babe, way to go." She grasped her daughter's arm as they walked further into the room. "You got yourself in without Huntzberger. Now, what are you going to do?"

"Nothing." Lorelai shot her a look and said, "We did not say no to a cancelled Friday night dinner for you to not do anything. Go over to him, do that hair twirl I taught you, and you'll be golden."

"He doesn't like me in that way," Rory argued, shifting uncomfortably. "If he did he would have asked me."

"No, hun, from what I have heard he does like you. And he probably just didn't think of inviting you. Don't take it personally."

Rory stiffened beside her and she asked, "Did you see him?" Rory nodded and pointed covertly toward the blonde boy. "Ah, I see him now. I didn't recognize him without the limo."

"Oh no, he's coming this way," Rory said, turning toward Lorelai sharply. "What do I do?"

"Well, you can start with saying hello."

Rory felt every bit of her tense as Logan closed the space between the two of them and arrived at her side. His lips pulled into a wide grin and he said, "Well, Ace, this is definitely a surprise." He glanced at Lorelai. "Hello, Lorelai."

"Logan, right?" Lorelai said. He nodded and she said, "I've heard lots about you."

"Oh really?" he asked and his eyes shifted to Rory. "All good things, I hope."

"Of course," Lorelai quipped. "Not a bad word come out of this one's lips."

"Is that so?" Logan asked, moving closer to Rory. Lorelai saw Rory's eyes widen as she said, "Well, I see a drink table that has my name on it. You kids have fun. But not too much. Let's keep it PG, okay?"

"We promise," Logan said and Lorelai shot them both a grin as she walked away. Logan shook his head and said, "Your mom is really something."

"She tends to elicit such a response," Rory intoned.

"So, why didn't you tell me you were coming to this?"

"You never asked," Rory said, crossing her arms across her chest. "Well, we talked about it a lot," he said. "You never mentioned anything."

"It was sort of last minute," Rory said, avoiding his eyes. His gaze on her made her feel all jittery, like she had some Energizer Bunny going around in her chest. "So, who'd you bring to entertain you?"

"No one, actually," he said. "My date contingency plan fell through. It seems that my company is not as much of a draw as it used to be."

"Pity," she retorted.

"Well, it's a good thing you showed up. Maybe we can keep each other awake during this snoozefest."

Rory felt her nerves abate as he smiled easily down at her and she reminded him, "I find this interesting, Logan, remember?"

"Ah, right, your long standing crush on Seymour Hersh."

"Not crush," she clarified. "Admiration."

"Call it what you want, Ace. You want a drink?" She shook her head. "You want to meet the man of the hour?"

"Meet Seymour Hersh?" He nodded and said, "Yeah, you two can talk about books and stuff."

"Um, yeah, that would be great." He grinned and placed his hand on the small of her back as he led her through the crowd. Lorelai watched from the drink table and smiled into her gin martini.

GG-GG-GG-GG-GG

"I can't believe how nice he was," Rory enthused as her and Logan walked away from where Seymour Hersh was sitting. "He was really, really nice!"

"Well, most are when their ego is being stroked," Logan pointed out, teasingly adding, "kiss-up."

"Nuh uh," she countered. "I meant every word that I said."

"You said a lot of them."

"Well, he is a very interesting man. There was a lot to say." Logan smiled and inclined his head toward the dance floor as he said, "Dance with me."

Rory rarely neglected a direct request and followed him out onto the dance floor. His arm slid around her waist and pulled her body close to his. She could smell his cologne and unintentionally leaned further toward him.

"You look nice tonight," he said after a moment. "Pretty nice for last minute."

"We started off at my grandparent's for Friday night dinner," she explained. "It's dressy-casual."

"You have a dress code for dinner?"

"My grandma takes these dinners very seriously."

He grinned. "Well, I'm glad you could make it tonight."

"You are?" she asked. Her voice was saccharine soft and she cleared her throat consciously before rephrasing in a more neutral tone, "Is that so?"

He laughed, "Yeah, Ace, you're good company. I never thought seeing someone fawn over a man twice her age could be so entertaining."

"I did not fawn."

"You shook his hand for nearly twenty seconds." Rory went to argue but on second thought she saw he had a point. "Fine, I concede that there was _some _fawning."

"Are you actually agreeing with me for once?"

She rolled her eyes and said, "Enjoy it while it lasts, Huntzberger."

GG-GG-GG-GG-GG

Emily stood with Richard and Lorelai, all three of them watching Rory dance with the Huntzberger boy. Lorelai had just freshened her drink and was more than happy to have another gin martini making its way into her system. That was how one got through these society events. Emily was working on her sidecar and sipped daintily before saying, "They really do make a handsome couple, don't they?"

"They sure do," Richard said.

"A handsome couple indeed," Emily pressed, a look of pleasant satisfaction gracing her patrician features. Lorelai snorted and told her mother, "Don't make the wedding invitations yet."

"He's a fine man," Richard said, ignoring his daughter's comment completely. "And she is a fine woman."

Lorelai ignored her parents' murmurs of wedding, somewhat put off yet not surprised by the way it sounded as if they were talking shop. She watched her daughter and Logan dance, thinking to herself that in one respect Emily was completely correct. They really did make a good looking couple.

GG-GG-GG-GG-GG

Logan felt the three of them watching as he moved with Rory on the dance floor. He caught Emily's full grin and Richard's calculating eyes. He wouldn't be surprised if Emily had already thought up table scapes and invitation designs. Rory seemed to be oblivious to it all with her chin tucked demurely against his shoulder. He liked the closeness and dipped his head down as he whispered, "We're being watched."

This unfortunately made her lift her head but she ducked down again sheepishly when she caught eyes with Lorelai. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" he asked, laughing at the absurdity of her apologizing to him. "They're just looking."

"It's like we're some circus spectacle." He shrugged and said, "Doesn't really bother me. We can leave if you want."

She looked up at him in surprise. "Leave?" He nodded and said, "Yeah, we can go outside or something." He saw her face relax and laughed. "That wasn't a come on, Ace."

"How was I to know?" she argued. "This is you we're talking about, after all."

"Valid point, Ace, valid point. The invitation outside is still standing." She looked up at him with a grin and asked, "Would you, Logan, like to go outside?"

"I could go either way." The song changed and he recognized the first few notes. "Ah, let's stay for this song. One of my favorites."

She didn't argue and felt his hands shift on her waist as they moved across the dance floor to _Musetta's Waltz_. Casually he asked, "You had a coming out, right?" She nodded and told him, "When I was in high school."

"Well," he said, "Let's see how much you remember."

He reached for her hand and wrapped his arm tighter around her waist. Before she could fully comprehend what he had said his feet began to do something a bit more intricate than she could follow but after a few stumbles she caught up and was surprised to find her feet moving in tandem with his.

"I can't believe I can still do this," Rory said, her voice a bit breathless as they whirled around the floor.

"Not too shabby, Ace."

"Ms. Patty would be proud," she said and when he gave her an odd look she explained, "My dance teacher."

"You had a dance teacher?"

"Emily Gilmore took my coming out very seriously. I nearly gave her a heart attack when I had my non-blue-blood boyfriend escort me."

"Who'd you take?"

The bright smile on her face dimmed and she cleared her throat uncomfortably before saying, "It was Dean."

Logan bit back an immediate response because she looked fairly dejected at the fact that this certain boy had entered their conversation and he was not too thrilled with it either. The last time he had seen the guy he had been driving away from the enchanting creature in his arms, making her sob until her shoulders shook. He did not like this Dean character, not at all.

"I think I'm ready to step outside," Logan said after a moment. "You?"

GG-GG-GG-GG-GG

"Oh! They're going outside," Emily enthused, clapping her hands together in excitement. She turned to her husband and said, "Did you see that, Richard? They went outside!"

"Yes, Emily, my sight has not failed me."

Emily pursed her lips into a slight frown and retorted, "You don't have to be rude, Richard. But this is all very exciting. Their going outside together is very, very good."

Lorelai looked strangely at her mother and asked, "Did you get this hot and bothered every time I stepped outside with a guy?"

Emily gave her daughter a cool look and replied, "Unfortunately, no, Lorelai. Your stepping out usually meant trouble."

"Ah, the parting shot," Lorelai said. "And you aren't at all worried about Logan? I heard he has a reputation."

"If anyone can rein him in, it is our Rory," Richard said proudly. "They are a wonderful match."

"Okay, this is getting creepy," Lorelai quipped. "Drinks anyone?"

Richard and Emily were too busy discussing the future of their granddaughter and the Huntzberg heir to answer.

GG-GG-GG-GG-GG

Logan and Rory stood at the side of the building, watching disgruntled waiters suck on cigarettes and cast them hooded glances questioning why they were infringing on their territory. The elaborate banquet halls with Swarvoski goblets and crisp tablecloths were where the likes of Rory and Logan belonged, not lurking along a building.

"They're looking at us," Rory told Logan softly. "We're on their turf."

"My parents pay their salaries."

"I thought you were supposed to check your ego with your coat," Rory said. He looked at her with a grin and said, "Speaking of coats, Ace, you don't have one. Are you cold?"

She shook her head, not wanting him to give her his, but the raised bumps on her arms gave her away. He slipped the coat off and put it around her shoulders. His scent enveloped her and she felt slightly lightheaded. The air was cool and a light breeze pushed her hair into her face. He reached forward and tucked the renegade strand of hair behind her ear.

"Logan," she murmured.

"Yeah?"

"Why didn't you invite me to this?" His hand dropped and he asked, "What do you mean?"

"You kept talking about it," she explained. "You told me how it was boring and you usually brought a date to distract yourself." His eyes lit with realization and he said, "You thought I was talking about you."

"Something like that."

"I didn't ask you because I don't want anything to happen between us," he said after a moment. His words made a cold settle all the way to her bones but she forced a flippant tone as she asked, "Who said anything about that?"

"Asking you to this would have insinuated things that shouldn't be insinuated."

"Logan-"

"We are two very different people, Ace. It's better that we don't get mixed up with each other."

She felt cold, completely cold and she leaned against the building to keep herself from trembling. She hadn't realized how much she wanted Logan to take some action until he told her that he wouldn't. He sensed her disappointment and said, "Ace, I didn't mean to lead you on."

"You didn't," she said quickly. "Really, you didn't."

"I mean, I like you. I like being with you." She nodded her head, telling herself to just keep nodding her head and he would not see the disappointment that she was sure dripped from every bit of her.

"Ace-"

"We should go inside," she said. "It's cold."

"Even with my jacket?" She looked down at the jacket and responded with, "It is not as warm as it looks."

"Alright, Ace, we'll go inside." She walked past him but he said behind her, "I really didn't mean to lead you on, Ace. And I'm really sorry if I did."

She turned back to him and said, "You didn't Logan. So, it's fine."

"Are we fine?" he asked, his eyes begging her to say that they were. To be honest, she really didn't think there was anything left to warrant a _we_ but she nodded for his sake and told him, "Yeah, we're fine."

She slid off the jacket and mumbled something about not wanting to cause gossip. He nodded and slipped it back on before opening the door for her.

GG-GG-GG-GG-GG

"Oh, they've come back in!" Emily said, nudging Richard in the arm. "Did you see that, Richard?"

"Yes, Emily, I see them."

"Oh no," Emily said after a moment, her tone dejected. "They don't look happy."

Richard looked at the grim appearance of his granddaughter's face and said, "Emily, this does not bode well."

"No, Richard, it does not."

Lorelai who had been standing beside them, head whipping from side to side with each subsequent inane remark, shook her head and told them, "You really should get cable."

GG-GG-GG-GG-GG

The Gilmores left Mitchum Huntzberger's illustrious party, which did indeed turn into a group of raving drunks, just as Logan had predicted, and Rory and Lorelai climbed into their car and pulled off of the driveway as Emily and Richard waved from the well-manicured porch stoop. Rory was uncharacteristically quiet and Lorelai gingerly asked, "So, how was it with Logan?"

"We are two very different people," Rory said stoutly. "That is what happened."

Lorelai caught something in her daughter's tone and said, "He tried something, didn't he?"

Her daughter's reaction was not what she anticipated. Rory's head snapped toward hers as she cried out, "No, of course not! Why would you think that, Mom? Logan is a nice guy! He is a nice guy who just happens to think that we are too different which is why he won't get involved with me!"

It was a good thing they were stopped at a red light otherwise the utter lack of attention Lorelai was paying the road would have been an issue. She gaped at her daughter and asked, "How did you get through all of that in a two hour party?"

Rory sunk further into her seat and said, "When we went outside."

"Wow, scratch that, how did you get through all of that in five minutes outside?"

"I asked him why he hadn't invited me," Rory explained. "And he said it was because it would have insinuated something that he did not want to insinuate."

"Oh babe, I'm sorry."

Rory took a deep settling breath and as she let it out, sighed, "It's fine. Really, it is. Logan is right. We are two very different people."

"So, maybe this is better in the long run?" Lorelai proposed hopefully, gauging her daughter's reaction. The hesitation did not bode well for the youngest Gilmore but she did eventually nod her head and agree, "Yes, it is definitely better in the long run."

Lorelai pulled the jeep into the driveway and both her and Rory were silent as they climbed out of the car. Lorelai looked at her daughter while thinking that Rory silent was never a good thing. All Rory could think about was that they weren't that different and if that really were the case she would give anything to change. Both walked into the house and Rory closed the door behind her.

"Babe, it'll be okay," Lorelai told Rory as she walked toward her room. Rory turned back and nodded her head. "You've hardly wallowed for Dean. Not that you need wallowing, but, this may be a good thing."

Again, Rory moved her head up and down. "I'm going to head to bed." Lorelai wanted to say more but felt that Rory had now put up a wall. She nodded her head quickly and said, "Yeah, sure, long day." Rory walked into her room and closed the door firmly behind her. She took off her heels and sat down on her bed. With the door closed and all eyes gone, she let herself accept just how much she had wanted something to happen. Her phone buzzed and she pulled it out of her purse. She recognized Logan's number and swallowed hard as she flipped it open.

**_Still meeting up tomorrow for the article?_**

And despite everything in her wanting to ignore the text she responded with a banal "yes" and turned off her phone. If she would have to face him more in the future she would at least give herself one night to mourn what was never really there.

**A/N: Yes, I know. They didn't get together. But this is supposed to work somewhat in the context of the show so I had to keep them apart. Just think, though, they still get to get it on at Richard and Emily's vow renewal. So, continue thinking those impure thoughts and leave me a review!**


End file.
